Open Season: Making sense of saltwater regulations confusion

Sunday

Jul 6, 2014 at 12:01 AM

There is still some confusion among saltwater anglers regarding the regulation that says while fishing with hook and line (rod and reel) under a commercial license — which permits an angler to sell his catch — that angler cannot keep any fish under his recreational license if fishing commercially on a given day. Some holders of commercial licenses are under the assumption that while fishing commercially, they can keep fish to take home and eat on their recreational license, if the season for that species is closed commercially.

Marc FOLCO

There is still some confusion among saltwater anglers regarding the regulation that says while fishing with hook and line (rod and reel) under a commercial license — which permits an angler to sell his catch — that angler cannot keep any fish under his recreational license if fishing commercially on a given day. Some holders of commercial licenses are under the assumption that while fishing commercially, they can keep fish to take home and eat on their recreational license, if the season for that species is closed commercially.

In other words, while commercial fishing for scup to sell, an angler catches a nice black sea bass. The commercial sea bass season is closed, but the recreational season is open, therefore the angler assumes he may keep the sea bass and take it home to eat. But it's not so. There is no provision in the regulations to allow vessels or persons to simultaneously participate in both recreational and commercial fishing.

Many fishermen hold both commercial and recreational licenses, however it is not lawful to conduct both activities on the same trip, according to a clarification by MarineFisheries released on May 25, 2012. To ensure the state complies with interstate plan mandates and that data collection methods are not compromised, it is not lawful for any person or vessel engaged in commercial fishing to retain any species that are prohibited for commercial fishermen during the same trip.

Another scenario would be if you're fishing commercially for any species outside of the commercial striped bass season but caught a state or world record striped bass, which is open recreationally, under the law, you would be required to release the record fish.

According to the MarineFisheries release, law enforcement officers have been instructed to consider all trips that are conducted by commercial permit holders who are in possession of quantities and/or sizes of fish that can only be authorized by a commercial permit — as commercial trips, and therefore that trip and those persons aboard, shall be bound by the commercial rules.

This rule has been a bone of contention among many anglers as mortally hooked fish, which could be utilized, must be thrown overboard. And there's also the possibility of having to throwback a record fish — either that or dump your commercial catch and take home the world record, but be in violation of wanton waste.

Last week, while commercial fishing for bluefish, I hooked a dandy of a black sea bass — one of those big, blue-headed hump-backed males — that weighed 4.5 pounds and would have qualified for a state pin in MarineFisheries' Saltwater Fishing Derby (minimum weight is four pounds for sea bass). Sea bass are bass, therefore are aggressive feeders and gobble up anything that looks like food, and they often get hooked deep and sometimes won't survive after being released. This particular fish ate a ragmop with a pork rind trailer and was hooked deep in his tonsils.

The recreational sea bass season is open, but I was fishing commercially and because the commercial black sea bass season isn't open until August, I reluctantly tossed him back. I could have made a heck of a meal out of him. I hope he lives.

BELOW AVERAGE

MassWildlife Turkey Project Leader David Scarpitti reported this week that preliminary harvest figures indicate approximately 2,550 wild turkeys were taken during the 2014 spring turkey season. Some information from physical check stations needs to be processed but the harvest appears slightly less than recent averages.

Many factors likely contributed to the slight decline in turkey harvest including cold, rainy weather during the 2013 hatch (early June) which resulted in below par poult (young) production. Also, the longer, colder conditions of the past winter probably affected the timing and extent of spring turkey breeding movements. Finally, cold and rainy weather during the first week of the turkey hunting season when most hunters go afield may have influenced turkey hunter effort, as well as turkey activity.

Online game checking, now in its second year of operation, continued to be a popular and convenient means of reporting turkey harvest, with approximately 60 percent of hunters choosing to check their game online, a 10 percent increase over last year's online reporting. The fall turkey season runs Oct. 20 to Nov. 1 statewide, except for Nantucket.

MassWildlife's "Becoming an Outdoor Family" Camping Weekends are scheduled for July 26-27 at Myles Standish State Forest in Carver and Aug. 2-3 at Harold Parker State Forest in Andover. They are overnight camping experiences, designed for families new to camping, and include setting up campsites, building and putting out campfires, cooking on open fires, archery and fishing for beginners. A traditional evening campfire, story teller and live animal programs are also planned. To register, call 617-626-4962.

DEADLINE IS JULY 16

MassWildlife reminds deer hunters that the deadline to apply for an antlerless deer permit is July 16. This permit is required for any deer hunter who wishes to hunt antlerless deer. There is no fee to apply, but a $5 fee is charged if you are selected for a permit during the Instant Award period. If you have not yet applied, you can submit your application either online or at a license vendor.

WINNERS ANNOUNCED

The Schwartz Center for Children recently announced its Fishing For A Cause charity tournament winners with Ray Jarvis taking first place in the striped bass category with 49 inches, followed by Brian Combra with 48 inches and Lou Othote taking third with 47.5.

David Cameron captured first place in the fluke division with 24 inches, JP Van Regenmorter took second with 23.625 and Leonard Campos won third with 23.5. In the Bluefish division, first place went to Robert Gale with 29.25 inches, second place went to James Barker with 28.5 and Jay Stoebel took third with 25.625.

Proceeds from the tournament, held in late June, benefit the Schwartz Center for Children in Dartmouth. Final numbers are still being tallied, but organizers estimate the gross revenue raised to be about $140,000, with several of the competing anglers donating their winnings back to the center.

Fishing For A Cause was made possible by the support of many volunteers, including a volunteer planning committee including Jessica Brodeur, David Cameron, Joanne Cameron, Tom Clarke, Brian Combra, Robert Gifford, Steve Gonsalves, Larry Hall, Craig Kauffmann, Jason Powell and Jonathan Schwartz. The presenting sponsor was Clarke Distribution Corporation with other major sponsors to include Seastreak, Greenberg Traurig LLP, Eden Florist and Garden Shop, Pepper's Fine Catering and Hunt Yachts.

The Schwartz Center for Children has been serving children with a variety of special medical and developmental needs in Southeastern Massachusetts since 1947.

The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) is making a total of $100,000 in grants available to public and private colleges for start-ups of new target-shooting clubs and teams. The grants are provided through NSSF's Collegiate Shooting Sports Initiative, which has assisted more than 75 schools with building competitive and recreational shooting programs. Up to $10,000 will be awarded to each qualifying school. Grant guidelines and applications are available at nssf.org/college and you can also search that site for "Establishing a College Shooting Sports Program," a brochure on how to establish a shooting program.

Marc Folco is the outdoor writer for The Standard-Times. Contact him at openseason1988@aol.com or through OpenSeasonSpecialties.com